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Rwanda: a renewed interest in French at the Centre culturel francophone de Kigali

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View of Kigali. RFI/Laure Broulard

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2 min

At the Centre culturel francophone de Kigali, a renewed interest in French seems to have begun in recent years, thanks to the warming of diplomatic relations between France and Rwanda. The French language has long been left aside in favor of English.

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With our correspondent in Kigali, Lucie Mouillaud

March 20 marks World Francophonie Day, and in Rwanda, French has long been neglected in favor of English, which became the language of instruction in schools in 2008.

But in recent years, thanks to the warming of diplomatic relations between France and Rwanda, a new impetus has been observed for the development of the learning of French, still very little spoken in the country.

« In 2022, 38,700 people pushed through the door of the center.

In a classroom at the Centre culturel francophone de Kigali, a group of students, between 4 and 7 years old, carefully follow the teacher's instructions.

« 

Today, we saw a core family doing different activities, she explains. Among the children I had, they use English especially at home, even at school. ».

Since the opening of the Centre culturel francophone in May 2021, more and more young parents, like Steve, have enrolled their children in Saturday classes, in order to supplement the rare hours of French taught at school.

« 

It opens up a lot of opportunities for them when they grow up, and they will have the chance to choose where they want to study, they will be able to decide if they want to do it in French or English. " he said.

► Read also Rwanda: the French language without borders with the Rencontres du livre francophone

Several programs to develop the teaching of French have been set up since the rapprochement between Paris and Kigali. The International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF), for example, has been recruiting foreign teachers since 2020 to compensate for the lack of French-speaking teachers in the country. A four-year plan was also drawn up last year by the Rwandan government.

According to the deputy director of the Centre culturel francophone, Johan-Hilel Hamel, there is a growing interest in the French language in Kigali: "The number of learners has tripled between 2020 and 2021, so people who wish to register for French courses. And the public of the Centre culturel francophone, over the year 2022, 38,700 people have pushed the door of the centre, which demonstrates the fact that there is an interest in culture, let's say, perhaps in the French language.

However, French remains very little spoken in the country; according to the OIF, only 6% of the Rwandan population is French-speaking

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Read on on the same topics:

• Rwanda
• France
• Journal de la Francophonie
• Francophonie
• Culture